Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of year for toy manufacturers. But in Joe Biden’s economy, toy sales are suffering thanks to runaway inflation and other pressures, forcing one of the world’s largest toymakers to deliver lumps of coal to employees just ahead of December 25.
Hasbro said this week that it is eliminating a whopping 1,100 jobs, or close to 20 percent of its workforce. The stunning announcement is on top of the 800 jobs the company slashed earlier this year.
CEO Chris Cocks delivered the bad news in an employee memo filed with the SEC.
Some Hasbro employees will find out if they are goners this week, while others will learn over the course of the next six months, Cocks said in the memo.
File/ Rich Uncle Pennybags, the Monopoly game figure, shows some of his “funny money” as he prepares to strike the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange in New York 07 February, 1995. The popular board game is celebrating its 60th anniversary for Hasbro and has sold more than 160 million copies worldwide. (BOB STRONG/AFP via Getty Images)
“We anticipated the first three quarters to be challenging, particularly in toys, where the market is coming off historic, pandemic-driven highs,” Cocks wrote. “While we have made some important progress across our organization, the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into Holiday and are likely to persist into 2024.”
He added: “I know this news is especially difficult during the holiday season. We value each of our team members – they aren’t just employees, they’re friends and colleagues. We decided to communicate now so people have time to plan and process the changes.”
Hasbro will also decamp from its Providence, Rhode Island, headquarters when its lease expires in January 2025.
Unlike rival Mattel — which benefited this year from the success of the Barbie movie — Hasbro had no box-office hits this year to boost its financial outlook.
The company is behind the Transformers movies, the latest of which Transformers: Rise of the Beasts underperformed when it was released earlier this year.
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